Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the bonding of three-dimensional bodies, such as reinforcement plugs, to the flat surface of a support member, such as an antenna panel or reflector element, by means of a curable adhesive. The invention also relates to the bonding of the plug-supporting support member to the surface of a core member or housing having plug-receiving recesses, to form an assembly such as a wing leading edge antenna or reflector assembly which is strengthened against separation of the core member surface from the surface of the reflector element.
It is known to pre-bond three-dimensional bodies such as reinforcement plugs to a flat support surface by means of curable adhesives, applying downward pressure during the adhesive cure cycle which averages about 12 hours duration. It is also known to apply pressure between the reinforcement plugs and the curable adhesive surface by means of screws, through the rear of the support member or reflector element into the plugs, to pull the plugs against the reflector surface during the first cure cycle. Alignment of the screw holes is required, and the pressure obtained is minimal at best.
Thereafter the formed plug assembly is bonded to the flat inner surface of a contoured core member having plug-receiving recesses which are sized and contoured to receive and bond to the adhesive-coated surfaces of the plugs while the flat inner surface of the core member bonds to the adhesive coating on the flat reflector surface during a second cure cycle.
The formed core assembly provides a separation-resistant assembly, such as a wing leading-edge antenna or reflector assembly in which separation-resistant bonding between the flat surfaces of the core member and the antenna assembly is provided by the plugs which extend perpendicularly outwardly from the flat reflector surface of the antenna element into the core member. Such assemblies are sufficiently strong provided that each plug element is strongly bonded to the reflector surface of the antenna element to resist separation therefrom. However, the known processes for producing such assemblies require two separate curing cycles, one for bonding the plug elements to the flat reflector surface of the antenna support member and another for bonding the plug-antenna assembly to the core member or housing to form the final assembly. Each curing cycle requires about 12 hours plus the additional labor and other costs.